Should monkeypox be declared a global emergency?Experts participate

The World Health Organization summoned an emergency committee on Thursday to consider whether the surge in monkeypox warrants should be declared a global emergency.

WHO’s decision to act only after the disease has spread to the west, some experts say, could establish grotesque inequality between rich and poor countries during the coronavirus pandemic. Say there is.

First multilateral emergency committee meeting #monkeypox Outbreak is currently in progress https://t.co/1zoGHShNb0 pic.twitter.com/zyWlOu0uE2

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) June 23, 2022

Declaring monkeypox as a global emergency risks the UN health agency seeing the outbreak as an anomalous event and spreading the disease across more borders, perhaps with a global response. Means it is necessary.

It also gives monkeypox the same distinction as the COVID-19 pandemic and makes ongoing efforts to eradicate polio.

WHO said it has no plans to announce the decisions made by the Emergency Commission by Friday.

Also read: Four graphs showing how monkeypox epidemics can occur

Many scientists suspect that such a declaration might help curb the epidemic, as developed countries recording the latest incidents are acting swiftly to withdraw the incident.

Last week, WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported that recent monkeypox epidemics have been identified as anomalous and concerned in more than 40 countries, primarily in Europe.

Monkeypox has sickened people in Central and West Africa for decades. There, one version of the disease kills up to 10 percent of infected people.

Versions of this disease found in Europe and elsewhere usually have a case fatality rate of less than 1% and no deaths have been reported outside Africa.

“If WHO was really worried about the spread of monkeypox, it would have been possible to convene an emergency committee a few years ago when the disease recurred in Nigeria. No one knows why hundreds of cases suddenly occurred. We didn’t, “said Oyewale Tomori, a Nigerian virologist. Part of several WHO advisory groups.

“It’s a little strange that WHO called their experts only when the illness appeared in a white country,” he added.

Also read: Monkeypox outbreak: “worried” WHO calls emergency meeting

Until last month, monkeypox did not cause large-scale outbreaks across Africa. Scientists haven’t found mutations that suggest the virus is more contagious, and WHO’s lead adviser last month saw a surge in cases in Europe with gay men in two rave in Spain. He said it was likely related to the sexual activity of bisexual men. Belgium.

To date, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified more than 3,300 cases of monkeypox in 42 countries where the virus is normally absent. Over 80% of cases occur in Europe. Meanwhile, more than 1,400 cases have already been seen in Africa this year, including 62 deaths.

David Fiddler, Senior Fellow of Global Health, Council on Foreign Relations, said WHO’s new attention to monkeypox as it spreads across Africa is between the rich and the poor as seen during COVID-19. He said it could inadvertently exacerbate the disparity.

There may be good reason why WHO issued an alarm only when monkeypox spread to rich countries, but to poor countries it looks like a double standard, Fidler said.
He said that the global community is still struggling to ensure that the world’s poor are vaccinated against the coronavirus, and given competing priorities like malaria and HIV, Africans. Said it was unclear if he wanted a monkeypox vaccine.

“Unless the African government specifically demands a vaccine, it may be a bit of a favor to send the vaccine, as it is in the Western interest to block the export of monkeypox,” Fidler said.

WHO is also sharing vaccines to help affected countries seeing doses to rich countries like the United Kingdom, which has the largest outbreak of monkeypox beyond Africa and has recently expanded its use of vaccines. Proposed to create a mechanism.

So far, the majority of cases in Europe have been gay or bisexual men, or other men who have sex with men, but scientists have found that those who are in close contact with the infected or theirs. Warns that clothes and bed sheets are at risk Infectious diseases, regardless of sexual orientation.

People with monkeypox often experience symptoms such as fever, body aches, and rashes. However, most recover within a few weeks without medical care.

Even if WHO announces monkeypox as a global emergency, it is unclear what impact it could have.

In January 2020, WHO declared COVID-19 an international emergency. But until March, when many other authorities described it as a pandemic a few weeks later, few countries were paying attention. WHO was later accused of multiple failures throughout the pandemic. Some experts say it may be encouraging a quick response to monkeypox.

“After COVID, WHO does not want to be the last person to declare monkeypox an emergency,” said Amanda Glassman, Executive Vice President, Center for Global Development. This may not go up to the level of an emergency like COVID, but it is still a public health emergency that needs to be addressed.

Salim Abdool Karim, an epidemiologist and vice-president of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, said WHO and others should make more efforts to stop monkeypox in Africa and elsewhere, but a global emergency. I wasn’t convinced that the declaration would be useful.

“There is a misguided idea that Africa is this poor and helpless continent, but in reality we know how to deal with the epidemic,” said Abdul Karim.

He said stopping the outbreak ultimately depends on surveillance, patient isolation, and public education.

“Maybe we need a vaccine in Europe to stop monkeypox, but here we were able to control it in a very simple way,” he added.

((((With agency input)